Uconn

Retired Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun, right, talks with his wife Pat, left, and granddaughter Emily, center, in Storrs, Conn., Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer who ran the men's program for 26 years and won three national titles announced his retirement on Thursday. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

STORRS — Christmas just got a whole lot better in the Calhoun household.

For 40 years, Pat Calhoun, wife of the now-retired Jim Calhoun, had to plan Christmas dinner around her husband's basketball practices. The holiday was sometimes spent in far-flung places, mostly spent at home but always spent with some sort of qualifier.

No more.

"I'm hoping I don't miss any of it," Pat Calhoun said Thursday. "I've enjoyed the idea that we can have a schedule where we're not saying Christmas dinner has to be at this time because Jim has to go to practice.

Through her husband's 26 years at UConn, Pat Calhoun has always been in the background. She has been around, of course, in the same seats at most every home game, making road trips more often than not. She saw her family, including sons Jim and Jeff, through the numerous changes that came with Jim Calhoun's chosen profession, the odd schedules, the long hours at home alone.

Now she and her husband can move on without working their entire lives around basketball. She, like her husband, is certainly at peace with the decision.

"I used to tell myself, I'll believe it when I see it," Pat said. "I always thought there was that little chance at the very end that he might come back. The last thing I said to him in the office today was, 'Don't change your mind.' It was a joke between us.

"The decision was made. He's very, very happy with it. As long as he's here and involved, he'll be just fine. We'll all be just fine, really."

Clean it up: Kevin Ollie is certainly a Calhoun disciple. Not much will change in the way UConn plays. The Huskies will still be focused on defense, try to run as much as possible and simply attempt to outwork opponents.

Even with the similarities, things will be decidedly different.

"There will probably be a little less cuss words," guard Ryan Boatright said. "We'll definitely be in shape. K.O. is a workout fanatic. It'll be totally different, a whole other atmosphere and a whole other feeling in the air. We're still going to suit up, lace our shoes and fight to get those wins."

Reaction: Plaudits came in from all around, including state politicians.

Even former UConn football coach Randy Edsall, whose Maryland team happens to be playing host to UConn on Saturday, found time to talk about Calhoun.

"We weren't best friends or anything," Edsall told the Washington Post. "We had a very professional relationship. He was very supportive of football, and I always went to all the basketball games, joked around with the players. Kemba Walker, I always used to tease him about coming out to play football. There was always a really good relationship there."

Only a handful of former UConn players and coaches made it Thursday. Walker was present as were Tony Robertson, Donny Marshall and Rudy Johnson. Steve Pikiell, a former UConn player and current Stony Brook head coach, and his brother, Tim, a former UConn walk-on, were at Gampel.

Quinnipiac head coach and longtime Calhoun assistant Tom Moore made it along with former UConn assistant and current Central Connecticut head coach Howie Dickenman.

It was probably as low-key as Calhoun would have liked it. Still, the announcement was nearly too much for Robertson, who had a number of run-ins with Calhoun during his playing days but remains committed to his former coach.

"It was tough," said Robertson, who is finishing his degree. "I was almost in tears over there. Me and Coach have been through a lot, but throughout it all he was always there for me. Difficult to see him walk away from the game he loves so much. I wasn't prepared for this day. I thought he'd always be here long after I was gone.

"I guess all things come to an end some time."

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